The threat which may be committed by person other than passenger, who is authorized to access to the Security Restricted Areas (SRAs), is becoming a real concern for States. Those States shall develop appropriate legislations and mechanisms to improve their AVSEC Systems in order to prevent such person from committing or attempting to commit an Act of Unlawful Interference or to assist other person or group of persons to threaten the Civil Aviation System.
The risk assessment regarding the Insider Threat has required ICAO to review and amend the Standard 6.2.4 of Annex 17 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation "Security" relating to the security screening of persons other than passengers and their items carried out. These amendments concern the successive amendment No.12 (has applied on 1/7/2011) and amendment No.13 (has applied on 15/7/2013).
The global and regional context and the increase of different kinds of threats with evolving risks targeting the International Civil Aviation has pushed States to try to ripose to these threats through the development of appropriate legal and legislative frameworks and to ensure that relevant security measures are effectively implemented by conducting of Quality Control Activities. Those actions aim to reduce the risks and threats against Civil Aviation.
Any amendments or reviews to the Civil Aviation Security legislation should be based on a continuous of Risk Assessment conducted by the relevant National entities. For that ICAO encourages its member States to establish a mechanism to integrate the Risk Assessment in their AVSEC procedures in order to optimize the use of the resources and to ensure that for each Risk Assessment they have the appropriate and right procedures with prioritizing and categorization classification.
To adopt this process is to comply with Annex 17´s requirements specially the Standard 3.1.3 which states the following:
" Each Contracting State shall keep under constant review the level and nature of threat to civil aviation within its territory and airspace above it, and establish and implement policies and procedures to adjust relevant elements of its national. "
In general, the threat reflects a deliberate act, Insider Threat is considered as a criminal act committed by persons other than passengers who are authorized to access to SRAs. We recognize that it is difficult to thwart a plan or to foil an Act of Unlawful Interference carried out by such persons even if they have been submitted to "background check".
The difficulty consists on there is no objective methods or technics to detect or to identify suspicious behaviour or the real reasons which push such persons to commit or attempt to commit an Act of Unlawful Interference against Civil Aviation. Moreover, it is not easy to implement effectively the Security measure regarding Access Control to the SRA´s and due to the Staff´s educational and social level and Staff´s political and intellectual orientation.
Civil Aviation Authorities are urged to establish appropriate procedures to ensure the effective implementation of the Access Control measures submitted to this category of persons who are authorized to access to the SRAs. It is important to note that the Acts of Unlawful Interference could be perpetrated as an isolated acts or collective acts.
Due to the lack of the security culture / awareness, the screeners assigned to the Staff´s Security Screening Point may not to apply the correct access control procedure including the effective screening of them and their items carried out.
This laxness is mainly due to following factors and reasons:
- Friendly relationship between Screeners and persons who are authorized to access to SRA;
- Knowledge of the technical limits of security equipment or knowledge of their status (failures).
- Routine could affect the skills of screeners when they apply the relevant procedures.
- Absence of the Authorities roles (Quality Control Activities) to identify deficiencies of procedures and/or security equipment used in the Access Control Points.
Insider Threats: Human Factors
Human factors remain among of weak points of the Aviation Security System and unfortunately, they were not well treated by Civil Aviation Authorities. Despite the ICAO has urged its member States to provide adequately funds for human resources assigned to implement the Aviation Security procedures.
As required by ICAO´s AVSEC documents, States shall establish the appropriate regulation and guidance material regarding the selection, recruitment and training.
Those regulation Instruments and appropriate training will ensure to provide a proper and skilled employee aware of the Insider Threat challenges and know how to tackle this current threat.
Eng. Atef AJILI
AVSEC Expert and Advisor